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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24198187">at gloaming</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowdrops/pseuds/rielity'>rielity (snowdrops)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Study, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Relationship Study, Shippy Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:35:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24198187</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowdrops/pseuds/rielity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In a pocket of time between their professional and personal lives, Izumi Mitsuki invites Tenn to dinner.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Izumi Mitsuki &amp; Kujou Ten, Izumi Mitsuki/Kujou Ten</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>at gloaming</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello, so I was recently dragged into Ainana hell and predictably latched straight onto Mitsutenn (dead-eyed stare into the distance).<br/>I'm only caught up to part 2 of the story, so this is written with only that much knowledge about both of them! the story itself is set a year or two after IDOLiSH7's debut. </p><p>notes:<br/>- a passing reference is made to TRG's first meeting, as well as Mitsuki &amp; Tenn's <a href="https://tamapuddi.tumblr.com/post/166455173011/shuffle-talk-mitsuki-and-tenn-rabitv-part-1">Shuffle Talk</a>.<br/>- this story as a whole was inspired by <a href="https://osakaso5.tumblr.com/post/159228050873/mitsuki-izumi-i7-roman-rabbit-chat-part-2-a">Mitsuki</a> and <a href="https://osakaso5.tumblr.com/post/182663087673/tenn-kujo-i7-roman-rabbit-chat-part-2-an-elite">Tenn</a>'s i7 Roman chats.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The door to the dressing room clicks open to reveal Izumi Mitsuki’s slight frame. Tenn sets down his cue cards on the table, as Izumi walks over to him. </p><p>“Hey, Kujou,” Izumi says, pausing by the empty sofa opposite Tenn for a beat too long.</p><p>“You don’t need to ask for my permission to sit in our dressing room, you know,” Tenn says, raising an eyebrow. It’s far from their first time working together: the show they’ve been co-hosting for the last half year wraps up its first season today with an extra-long closing episode, and the second season is set to pick up next quarter, so there is no reason for Izumi to stand on such formality with him. </p><p>“You looked busy,” Izumi says. “I didn’t want to disturb.” Nonetheless, he settles down in the seat. </p><p>“Not at all,” Tenn says. He was only looking for something to occupy himself with before they resumed the second half of the day’s filming, and so had settled on revising the special talk segments. “You were looking for me?”</p><p>“Well, yes,” Izumi says. “The production team invited us to join their wrap party. Will you be going?”</p><p>Tenn is keenly aware that Izumi Mitsuki has worked on enough projects and attended enough work parties with him for this to be a deliberate question. Both of them would surely prefer to spare themselves the agonising sight of a group of middle-aged men getting shitfaced and spouting uncouth drivel in public, as their director is particularly known to do. </p><p>Unfortunately, even though it’s been some time since their respective debuts, they’re still the two youngest members in the team. It’s not so much of whether they can attend, but rather how long they will stay. After all, it would look unprofessional on them as industry juniors to skip out entirely on a work function. And there are many worse people to attend a wrap party with than Izumi Mitsuki.</p><p>“I’ll go,” he says. “But I have to leave early, I have a schedule tomorrow that I need to prepare for.” </p><p>Izumi nods, breaking into another smile that looks almost relieved. “Me too! I’ll let the team know later, then. By the way, I wanted to ask you about the talk corner for later—”</p><p>Tenn lets himself get swept up in the familiarity of it. Whether it’s hosting or singing or dancing or attending work parties, work is work, after all. Izumi Mitsuki knows this as well as he does. </p><p> </p><p>Filming wraps up early, leaving them with a window of two hours before they have to show up at the izakaya that has been reserved. Two hours is a bothersome amount of time, because while Tenn has work to do, it’s at home, and Kujou’s house is too out of the way for it to be worth making the trip to and fro. He’s considering the feasibility of going downtown and taking a walk to kill time, when Izumi returns to the dressing room, clad in a plain turtleneck sweater. </p><p>“Kujou,” Izumi says. “You said you had work to prepare for, right? Are you heading back to your office before the party?”</p><p>“No, I don’t have it with me,” Tenn says, furrowing his brows. He should have been more prepared and brought the documents along today; now he’ll have to waste precious time for no good reason. It doesn’t help either that he’s getting hungry - at least he’ll have time to have a proper dinner before the party itself.</p><p>“Do you want to come over to our office? I have to drop off some things for our manager before she gets off work for the day.” Izumi beams, bright and disarming. “We can grab dinner after! I bet you’re starving, ‘cause I am.”</p><p>Tenn narrows his eyes slightly in distrust, which Izumi must pick up on, because he bursts out laughing. “Riku’s not in today, don’t worry. Unless something came up, he should be out on a schedule until later tonight. The studio’s supposed to be empty today.”</p><p>“Your manager should stop giving him such late schedules, it’s getting colder,” Tenn says before catching himself with a frown.</p><p>Izumi spares him the embarrassment beyond a knowing smirk, but it’s quickly replaced by an expectant look. “I’m not talking about Riku’s schedule right now, though. How about it, Kujou?”</p><p>Tenn shrugs. “If it’s not a problem for you. I don’t have anywhere to be.” He <em>could</em> still opt to just have dinner alone as always, but. But what? He can make exceptions sometimes, and he doesn’t mind Izumi Mitsuki’s company that much. </p><p> </p><p>As Izumi promised, the Takanashi Productions office is empty but for their managers and a few administrative staff. They’re all surprised to see Tenn, but Izumi breezes in before they can exchange more than greetings, declaring that he’s here to deliver some work, and promptly depositing a set of files on Takanashi-san’s desk.</p><p>Takanashi-san’s eyes light up. “Mitsuki-san! You got them here in time!” </p><p>“Of course, Manager,” Izumi says, puffing out his chest proudly. “I told ya I’d get them to you, didn’t I?” </p><p>“I can always count on you,” Takanashi-san says, smiling. She meets eyes with Tenn, standing in the doorway to the office. Tenn makes brief notice of the dark shadows under her eyes, which had not been there the last time they met, although that must have been a month or so ago. “Ah, are you and Kujou-san…”</p><p>“Yeah, we’re going for dinner before tonight’s wrap party!” Izumi says. “I’ll talk to you more about the documents tomorrow, if that’s alright?”</p><p>“Yes, of course,” Takanashi-san says. “Have a good dinner, Mitsuki-san, Kujou-san!”</p><p>“Thank you. Sorry for the intrusion,” Tenn says, inclining his head as Izumi waves and ushers him out of the office. </p><p>“Well, let’s go, Kujou,” Izumi says once they’re out of the building, making a swift turn right. Tenn looks around, taking in his surroundings. Takanashi Productions is located in a quieter suburb of greater Tokyo, very much unlike the bustling city centre where Yaotome Productions operates out of. While he has been here together with the other members of TRIGGER many times in the past, it’s his first time here out in the neighbourhood. “Say, you don’t mind ramen, do you?”</p><p>“No, that’s fine.”   </p><p>“I hope you don’t mind walking either,” Izumi says, tossing him a grin. “It’s not too far away from here.”</p><p>At this hour, the late-autumn chill is starting to make itself felt. They stop at a traffic light, and Tenn wraps his scarf a little tighter around his neck. Izumi slides him an apologetic look. “Sorry, it’s another block away. I know you don’t like exposing your throat to the cold.”</p><p>“Don’t worry about it,” Tenn says. It’s just like Izumi Mitsuki to notice and remember the small things about his co-workers and his friends; it’s little surprise that he’s made a name for himself among the industry heavyweights.</p><p>“The members come here once in a while after practice,” Izumi offers as they cross the street. “Their tonkotsu broth is top-class!”</p><p>“It’s a little out of the way from your studio, isn’t it?” </p><p>Izumi laughs, though the sound is muffled behind his mask. “Yeah, kinda! Iori and I happened across it when we were heading to the audition. We brought the members here the day after we were confirmed as a group!”</p><p>“Sounds nice,” Tenn says. He can picture it already, the liveliness of their group filling up the restaurant, so very different from TRIGGER’s first meeting at that empty bar underground.</p><p> </p><p>It’s a small hole-in-the-wall place that Izumi eventually stops in front of, the kind with hanging tungsten bulbs and narrow aisles lined with tables pushed up against the wall. Izumi leads him to one of the tables at the very back, his small hand warm against Tenn’s shoulder. </p><p>The waitress who comes up to their table with two menus greets Izumi by name — “Mitsuki-san, good evening!” and Izumi returns it with an equally bright smile — “Evening!” </p><p>To her credit, the waitress doesn’t seem too flustered when she notices that Tenn is Izumi’s dinner companion, only greeting him politely to say that she’s a fan, before taking their orders and leaving them to themselves. It’s a nice change; it’s getting harder and harder to stay incognito when he’s out in public, especially when he’s out with a fellow idol, and he’s thankful for every chance he gets.</p><p>“We’re regulars here, as you can tell," Izumi says, as though reading his mind. “And I’ve come here with Yaotome and Tsunashi-san before. I figured you’d want someplace quiet.”</p><p>Tenn appreciates that, really. It doesn’t stop him from saying in mock contemplation, “So I’m the last one that you’ve brought here for dinner...” He knows Gaku and Ryuu frequently go drinking with Izumi and Nikaido on their days off; it’s more likely than not that they visited on one of those occasions. Still, it’s seldom that he gets to tease Izumi like this, especially with the way Izumi freezes for a split-second, his eyes widening as he tries to figure out what Tenn’s game is.</p><p>The tension eases up as quickly as it comes, though, Izumi’s lips curling into a smirk. At least he realises Tenn’s not being serious, which is more than what Tenn can say for most people, including his own groupmates. Then again, it would make sense that Izumi Mitsuki would, given that he’s Izumi Iori’s older brother. </p><p>So Tenn should have seen it coming when Izumi looks at him over the rim of his cup, eyes still dancing with amusement. “Sounds like someone’s jealous, Kujou?” </p><p>It’s Tenn who’s left at a loss for words this time. He wouldn’t put it that way, but —</p><p>He must hesitate too long, or Izumi is simply kind enough to take mercy on him. “I’m kidding, don’t worry your pretty head about something like that,” he says with a chuckle. “We came here with the old man the last time we went drinking together. The two of us don’t really get many opportunities to hang out like this outside of work, after all!” </p><p>“We don’t,” Tenn acquiesces. They hardly ever get to work together in the first place; most of his conversations with Izumi take place over Rabbit Chat rather than in person, and their schedules only line up well enough for them to make plans once in a blue moon. </p><p>“Better make the most of this chance, then,” Izumi says, beaming. He leans back in his chair. “Say, have you been watching any shows lately? I’ve been watching lots of shows for research, and Iori says I need to switch things up, watch something for leisure instead. But I’ve already watched most of the recommendations from the members...”</p><p>Tenn raises an eyebrow. This is not a question he gets asked much, nor one that he would usually deign to answer. He’s not even sure if Gaku or Ryuu know the answer. There’s no reason for him to divulge such mundane, personal things about himself, anyway. The greater the distance he holds from them, the better it is for everyone involved.</p><p>“Take a guess,” he opts for saying. It’s a little bit of a cop-out, but it’s not an outright refusal to answer, either. </p><p>Izumi levels him an even gaze. “Is it a detective show?”</p><p>That’s a closer guess than Tenn had expected. “Are you guessing that because of Riku?” he asks, perhaps a little sharper than intended. All it does is earn himself a bewildered look from Izumi. </p><p>“No, Riku doesn’t seem to particularly like detective shows,” Izumi says. “I guessed it because you mentioned reading a detective novel the other time.”</p><p>Tenn can’t think of any response to that, because Izumi is right. There’s an awkward pause for a moment, before Izumi presses on, voice low and face serious, “Kujou, maybe I’m overstepping, but. Right now I’m talking to Kujou, not Riku. You’re my friend too, you know?” </p><p><em>You’re not Riku, and he’s not you</em> is unspoken, but Tenn can hear it: the courtesy and care to avoid making any direct relation between Riku and himself in public, and the mulishness of Izumi Mitsuki. Even though he’s witnessed how stubborn Izumi can get when he wants to be, such as the one time both of them argued against their producer for certain <em>creative choices</em> that were downright nasty, being the direct subject of that obstinacy leaves him at a complete loss. </p><p>Maybe this is how Gaku and Ryuu feel with him.</p><p>He’s spared by the arrival of their food. Izumi thankfully drops the subject, steering the conversation to the restaurant’s signature tonkotsu ramen, which he’d ordered for both of them. Tenn is pleased to find that it tastes as delectable as it smells — rich, but not too salty.</p><p>They eat mostly in silence, during which time Tenn comes to a decision.</p><p>“I’ve been watching documentaries,” he offers. Izumi looks up from his bowl in surprise, and Tenn resists the urge to clamp down and stop talking. They’re not at work, he reminds himself. This isn’t an interview. Izumi is speaking to him as a friend, not as a co-worker, and he’s not being horribly intrusive about it either. “It started with crime documentaries so I could listen to different kinds of voiceovers, but recently I’ve been checking out animal documentaries… they’re less stressful to watch, especially after a long day at work.”</p><p>— Animal documentaries show him how free they are, so very much unlike himself, a caged animal who only tastes his own freedom when he’s alone in his room at Kujou’s house, when the curtains are pulled shut and the door is locked, when he has set aside his work for the night and can spend precious few minutes watching the freedom with which those animals live. </p><p>He could say all that, but he won’t; he <em>can’t</em>. He ducks his head, embarrassed and already starting to regret saying anything. This is why he doesn’t talk about his personal life with anyone; it’s just another vulnerability that can be exploited in some way eventually, an insight into his person that he doesn’t need anyone else to have. He’s half-expecting Izumi to say something like, “Wow, so even you get tired too, Kujou?” or for Izumi to laugh a little and say, “It’s really all about work with you, huh, Kujou!”</p><p>But Izumi doesn’t say any of that. Instead, he says, eyes wide and actually <em>sparkling</em>, “Have you watched the latest series from the NHK? The one about penguin migration!”</p><p>“Isn’t that a rerun?” Tenn says, wrinkling his nose. “If it wasn’t, they reused a lot of the footage… The narration was fine but I’ve heard better.”</p><p>“Seriously?!” Izumi looks dismayed, his chopsticks pausing mid-air. “Do you have any recommendations, then? It sounds like they would be great for studying and relaxing at the same time. And animals are cute.”</p><p>“They are cute,” Tenn acknowledges, lips quirking up against his will, “and very feral.”</p><p>“Like you,” Izumi sighs dramatically, though it’s immediately replaced with a broad grin. “Angelic until you start talking.”</p><p>“I’d say the same goes for you, Izumi Mitsuki,” Tenn says, unable to stop the smile now. There truly is something infectious about Izumi that even he cannot withstand, and his shoulders feel lighter than they have been in a while. “I’ll send you some links over Rabbit Chat tonight.”</p><p>“I’m counting on you then,” Izumi says. “I like big cats, by the way. Send me all the night-time hunters!”</p><p>“I’ll keep that in mind.”</p><p> </p><p>Dinner is over too quickly, and Tenn is almost sorry to have it end. But the clock is ticking, like their Cinderella call, and they have a wrap party to head to. Izumi insists on paying, and waves off Tenn’s protests with a casual, “You can pay the next time we get dinner together!”</p><p>The promise of a future dinner should really not make Tenn feel as pleased as he does, nor should it make him so reckless as to say, “Maybe when we’re not rushing for a party, next time.” </p><p>But he says it anyway, and Izumi Mitsuki pauses, wide amber eyes catching the lights of the city outside as he stares up at Tenn. It’s a rare sight; for all of Izumi’s expressiveness, Tenn seldom sees him with such a look of unrestrained surprise. That being said, he’s not sure what is so surprising to Izumi about this, when Izumi was the one to suggest a next dinner. </p><p>Izumi looks away first. “Sounds fair, Kujou. Let’s go, we’re gonna be late.”</p><p> </p><p>The taxi ride to the izakaya is quiet, as though their conversations from earlier have been left behind in the ramen place. As Tokyo speeds by, Tenn looks at his reflection in the window, noting the way that Izumi tugs at the collar of his turtleneck next to him. </p><p>They’re both professionals, after all. Tenn knows this of both of them. It’s what makes working with Izumi easy, and what makes getting to know Izumi hard. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Izumi Mitsuki,” he says, when they’ve disembarked and are walking towards the izakaya. He’s feeling a little rebellious today, or maybe he’s just feeling foolhardy, in a way he hasn’t allowed himself to be in years. Maybe he’ll try pushing that wall a little more.</p><p>“Yeah?” </p><p>“Do you think they’ll serve you juice again today?” The last work party they had, the venue had offered both of them juice, much to Izumi’s annoyance and Tenn’s amusement. </p><p>Izumi glares at him in mock offense. “Oi, watch it, Kujou!”</p><p>Even so, he knows Izumi’s going to get juice anyway. Izumi has a low tolerance, but Tenn has never seen Izumi get drunk at work events outside of their private get-togethers. Izumi Mitsuki values his reputation — his own, and his group’s — too much to do something that foolish.</p><p>Izumi slides him another look, already smiling. “But since you asked so nicely, we can have juice together in the corner and watch them get wasted.”</p><p>Tenn scoffs, but he’s smiling, too. “Sure.” The wrap party doesn’t sound as miserable when Izumi Mitsuki puts it that way.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/imadoki/pseuds/imadoki">imadoki</a> for bringing me into this hell and betaing for me!</p><p> <a href="https://twitter.com/rielavity">twitter</a> | <a href="https://noyabeans.dreamwidth.org/26588.html">writing reflection entry/a bit of a mitsutenn manifesto</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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